Memphis woman with mystery illness that gained worldwide attention has died
by: Melissa Moon
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis woman who gained worldwide attention after she developed an illness doctors could not explain has died.
Shanyna Isom’s mother announced her passing this week with a GoFundMe to pay for her funeral and burial.
“Shanyna fought a long fight and was determined to live and overcome the odds. She was so used to beating her illness to the fact her passing away was unexpected,” said Kathy Gary. “We have shared her journey for years and gave people an inside look at her day-to-day fight. Shanyna’s story was heard around the world.”
Shanyna shared her story with WREG in 2012. She was 28 at the time, using a walker, and had scabs all over her body. Just two years earlier, she had been a vibrant University of Memphis student.
Shanyna told us she had an allergic reaction to a steroid shot she received for an asthma attack, and her entire body changed. She said her skin wasn’t receiving enough oxygen; it started to scab, and it got stranger from there.
“I had rice-like stems growing out of my body everywhere hair grows, I had nails growing on,” explained Shanyna. “I always ask my favorite question ‘have you ever seen this before?’ I could tell by the way they look when they come in the room; doctors are not supposed to look so surprised.”
At the time, Shanyna was getting some relief from monthly trips to John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. But the trips were very expensive, and she said her medical bills were mounting.
Shanyna’s only sibling, Jed Gary, said his sister’s condition had improved to the point where she was able to walk and drive again, but she was still fighting her illness.
He said in recent years, her health had begun to deteriorate, and she died Saturday at Baptist Memorial Hospital.
“In the last six months, she lost her voice and wrote everything down on a board,” said Jed. “No matter how her condition made her feel and how she was struggling, she still had a smile on her face, and one of the last things that she wrote on the board was I want to live. So, that breaks me down.”
Shanyna’s mother said that while the family is devastated by her death, they will continue to share her story.
“We will continue to talk about the medical bills that reached over a million dollars. The people with medical conditions that fought for insurance and stood up to the insurance giants.” Kathy said.
Shanyna’s funeral is on March 8 at R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home on Walnut Grove Road. For more information about the GoFundMe campaign, click here.
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